MOSCOW, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - London should provide an explanation on reports regarding the arrest of a Russian suspected of attempting to kill fugitive Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
The Metropolitan Police officially confirmed July 18 that a Russian man had been arrested June 21 on suspicion of plotting to kill the prominent London-based Moscow critic, but said he was released two days later without charge.
The British Ambassador to Moscow Tony Brenton was summoned to the ministry. "The Russian side is still awaiting an official explanation to recent reports in the British media about the arrest of a Russian national in London on suspicion of an attempt to kill Berezovsky, and who was deported from Britain within a month," the Russian ministry said.
Scotland Yard said the Russian, arrested in central London after weeks of police surveillance, was eventually handed over to immigration authorities for deportation.
At a news conference last week, Berezovsky said, citing unspecified sources in the Metropolitan Police Service, that the suspected killer had been sent by the Kremlin and had already been deported from Britain.
"If the British side has evidence of the arrested man's criminal intentions, and if he is really Russian, then... why did British law enforcement agencies deport a suspected criminal and not inform Russian authorities about the incident or even provide his name?" the ministry said.
In early July, Russian prosecutors formally refused to extradite former Kremlin bodyguard-turned-businessman Andrei Lugovoi, accused by the U.K. of poisoning former Russian security officer and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium, citing the Constitution banning the extradition of Russian nationals.
Britain announced it would expel four Russian diplomats last week and impose visa restrictions for officials over Moscow's refusal to extradite London's chief suspect in the fatal poisoning of the former FSB officer and British national in London last November.
Moscow responded to London's measures by expelling British diplomats and promised similar visa restrictions. The countries also suspended antiterrorist cooperation.
The U.K. Foreign Office said Thursday it would give a response to the Russian ministry's request through diplomatic channels soon.
